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Cambodian American lawyer gets 6 years for ‘treason’ in mass sentencing of opposition

Editor011 mins

Police in Phnom Penh on Tuesday arrested a Cambodian American lawyer and activist dressed as the Statue of Liberty outside a courthouse, where minutes before a mass trial ended by convicting her and more than 50 other opposition figures of treason. Theary Seng was a high-ranking member of the Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) before the country’s Supreme Court dissolved the party five years ago, a decision that paved the way for Prime Minister Hun Sen to tighten his grip on the country and squash criticism of his longstanding government.    Wearing a copper-patina hued flowing gown and speckled in glitter, Theary Seng stood holding the torch of liberty in one hand and a tablet reading “Paris Peace Accord, 23 October 1991” in the other, a reference to the agreement that ended civil war in Cambodia and established the Southeast Asian nation as a fledgling democracy. “I am ready for the sham verdict that will be announced this morning which will be a guilty verdict. I am ready and prepared to go to the notorious Cambodian prison for my political opinions, for my beliefs, for my belief in democracy,” she told reporters prior to the conviction. “This regime will not let me go free. It will be an unfair and unjust verdict, because I am innocent, the others charged with me are innocent. But we are living in a dictatorship, we are living in a regime that suppresses and represses its own people, that punishes, that uses the law as a weapon against its own people,” Theary Seng said. She also said that she would not enter the court during the trial. If the authorities wanted to arrest her, they would have to do it publicly, she said. Theary Seng was sentenced to six years in prison, while the others received sentences ranging from five to eight years. Among the other activists on trial Tuesday, 27 were tried in absentia, according to New York-based Human Rights Watch. The treason charges against the activists stem from abortive efforts in 2019 to bring about the return to Cambodia of CNRP leader Sam Rainsy, who has been in exile in France to avoid what his supporters say are politicized charges against him. Following the verdict, authorities obliged Theary Seng’s request for a public arrest — two police officers grabbed her and rushed her into a waiting truck, a video shows. Chhoeun Daravy, an activist who witnessed the arrest, told RFA the police truck drove her to prison. “We are deeply troubled by today’s unjust verdicts against Theary Seng and others,” the U.S. Embassy in Cambodia said in a statement posted to Facebook. “Freedom of expression and association, and tolerance of dissenting views, are vital components of democracy. “We call on Cambodian authorities to release her and other human rights activists from unjust imprisonment.” The Cambodian government’s spokesperson, Phay Siphan, told RFA’s Khmer Service that Theary Seng’s courtside demonstration had nothing to do with the verdict, and tried to dispel the idea that her conviction could damage relations with Washington. “The court’s measures are based on the law,” he said. “Cambodia and the U.S relationship is important … more important than just one person,” Phay Siphan said. Because Theary Seng is a dual citizen of Cambodia and the United States, the embassy can request that she serve her sentence in the U.S., Phay Siphan said. He also said she had the option to appeal and could also seek amnesty from Cambodia’s king after serving two-thirds, or four years, of her sentence. Theary Seng’s lawyer, Choung Chou Ngy, told RFA that he will appeal the court’s verdict. Meanwhile, the prison department refused to allow him to see her, which he said violated the law. The court’s verdicts today show a double standard, Ny Sokha of the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association told RFA. He said that former CNRP officials who agreed to defect to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party have seen their sentences suspended or the charges they faced dropped. “The court’s decision is more about politics rather than the law. If the culture of the dialogue still existed, no one would have been prosecuted. The problem stemmed from political conflict,” he said. In an interview with RFA, Sam Rainsy said he would return to Cambodia to face charges if Hun Sen dropped all charges against former CNRP officials, including Theary Seng. “Hun Sen has targeted me. Hun Sen is afraid of my presence. Why is Hun Sen is afraid of me?” he said. “Release all the prisoners. I volunteer to stay in jail since they [the court] accused me of being the ring leader.” During the mass trial in Phnom Penh Tuesday, Sam Rainsy was given an additional eight years in absentia–adding to the 47 years he has received in recent years. “Hun Sen is afraid of democracy. About 61 were prosecuted but millions of people won’t be intimidated. Wipe your tears and continue,” he said, adding that Theary Seng would be a bone that Hun Sen would have to swallow. Jared Genser, who is providing pro bono counsel to Theary Seng, condemned the court’s decision. “By detaining Theary on plainly fabricated national security charges, Hun Sen has violated a litany of her rights — and dealt yet another blow to Cambodia’s civic space,” said Genser. “It is clear that Hun Sen feels greatly threatened by this courageous woman who speaks truth to power.”  Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, called Tuesday’s proceedings a “show trial” and said they “expose the Hun Sen government’s fear of any vestige of democracy in Cambodia.” “The mass trials against political opposition members are really about preventing any electoral challenge to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s rule, but they have also come to symbolize the death of Cambodia’s democracy,” Robertson said. “By creating a political dynamic that relies on intimidation and persecution of government critics, Hun Sen demonstrates his total disregard for democratic rights,” he said. The convictions draw to a close a trial that began in 2020…

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Vietnam state media trained to protect government policies

Editor05 mins

Reporters and editors employed by state media outlets in Vietnam are being trained to uphold the views of the ruling Communist Party on human rights, freedom of expression and other politically sensitive topics, sources in the country say. Vietnam’s government appears especially sensitive to foreign criticism on human rights issues, frequently attacking allegations of abuse or the suppression of free speech as the work of hostile forces, according to rights groups and other activists. Trainings are now held each year to ensure that those working in Vietnam’s state-owned media work within limits set by the government and ruling party, Nguyen Ngoc Vinh — former managing editor of the country’s popular Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper — told RFA in an interview. “Vietnamese law already clearly stipulates that the media in Vietnam are a tool of the party and state, and fighting against ‘hostile forces’ is just one of the goals the media has to achieve,” Vinh said. A training course recently held in northern Vietnam’s Ninh Binh province, and reported in an article on Monday by the country’s Labour newspaper, served to remind the reporters, editors and other staff attending of their role in affirming “the party’s guidelines in media affairs,” Vinh said. “Those guidelines have been agreed by the media in Vietnam at all levels, and they are that caution must be used in reporting on human rights issues. That’s it!” he added. Employees of state media in Vietnam are also instructed to guide public opinion on politically sensitive and controversial cases, Vinh said, pointing to the deadly January 2020 clash between land protesters and police at Dong Tam commune outside Hanoi as an example. At first, only social media covered the killing by police of Dong Tam elder Le Dinh Kinh, but then official media reported the incident, using the police as their only source of information, Vinh said. “The media rejected all other sources of information, including accounts by local residents who were witnesses to the killing.” One-sided stories According to standards of modern reporting, the media must obtain information from different sources in order to get as close to the truth as possible, Vinh said. “But in Vietnam, the media are only allowed to tell one-sided stories, especially in human rights cases.” A human rights lawyer, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, told RFA that the censoring of media by political authorities has badly hurt the defense of human rights in Vietnam. In a free and democratic society, the media play a critical role in protecting the freedom and dignity of the people, RFA’s source said. “However, in Vietnam, the media are seen as a tool of the ruling party and government. They lose their function of creativity and criticism, as they are closely controlled by the Communist Party of Vietnam’s Central Commission on Education and Communications. “The media therefore only serve as the authorities’ mouthpiece in cracking down on dissenting voices, providing misleading information to divide people in society, and protecting the ruling elite,” the lawyer said. Translated by Anna Vu for RFA Vietnamese. Written in English by Richard Finney.

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Police in China’s Tangshan promise citywide crime crackdown after thugs beat woman

Editor012 mins

Police in the northern Chinese city of Tangshan have announced a citywide crackdown on violent crime after a viral video of thugs beating up a woman at a barbecue restaurant sparked massive public outrage. Nine people were arrested in connection with the incident. Tangshan mayor Tian Guoliang said the city would “strike hard” against organized crime and improve public order after several of the woman’s assailants were found to have ties to a Jiangsu-based criminal gang, the Tian ‘an Society, according to state broadcaster CCTV.   The anti-crime campaign received widespread public support on social media, where the video has sparked outrage, prompting women to voice concerns about traveling or eating alone. It will target criminal activities that “spur strong emotion from the public and have an adverse influence on society, including intentional injury, extortion, drug abuse and cybercrimes,” the English-language China Daily newspaper reported. The video — which shows women initially fighting back after being approached and harassed by an unidentified man — has been traced to the early hours of June 10, at a restaurant in Tangshan’s Lubei district. Much of the outrage focused on the fact that nobody watching intervened to stop the subsequent, vicious beating of the women who fended off the initial assault, who was left severely injured as the attackers ran off. Four women were injured in the incident, two of whom were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, police told state media. The ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s disciplinary arm called for the “root causes” of the crime to be investigated and dealt with. “We must stick to a zero tolerance policy for all kinds of illegal and criminal activities … and build a comprehensive and three-dimensional prevention and control system,” the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said. “Don’t wait for problems to emerge before you pay attention to them.” Hebei resident Zheng Cheng said the barbecue restaurant incident was just the tip of the iceberg, in a city plagued by gang violence. “They have their own independent source of funding, and there are [powerful] people behind them,” Zheng told RFA. “These attackers are very arrogant, and act as tyrants in the local area.” Further reports of violence against women have emerged in Tangshan since the beating video. Kidnappings Pictures posted by medical staff from a Tangshan hospital showed a young woman’s injuries after she was kidnapped outside the high-speed railway station, raped and stabbed, eventually crawling two kilometers before being rescued. A nightclub singer surnamed Zhang also reported being kidnapped by a Tangshan gang who held her for ransom, locking her in a dog cage. Six people have been arrested in connection with her case, and with that of a cake shop owner who reported extortion, Tangshan police department said on Monday. A current affairs commentator surnamed Cai said online discussion of the case was relatively free, even on China’s tightly controlled internet. “The reason they have gone easy on online [reports and comments] is that there was no official involvement here,” Cai said. “That’s hugely important. If officials had played any kind of a role here, they would have shut down discussion.” “They are now deflecting the blame onto criminal gangs, to take the heat off the government,” he said. Xue Li, a Generation Z woman, said she has been left sad and angry after reading constant updates on the Tangshan incident on her phone all weekend. “I just felt so angry at the time, and so disappointed, for the same reason as everyone else, which was why was nobody helping?” she said. “How is it that men can just get away with beating up women like that?” Another young woman who asked to be identified as S said she had felt panicky after seeing the video. “I couldn’t breathe,” S said. “I couldn’t believe that something like this could happen in 2022.” A Taiyuan resident who gave only the nickname Ellie said many women are well aware that the Tangshan incident was just the tip of the iceberg. “What makes me feel even more helpless is that this is just one of countless cases of violence against women, and if the authorities hadn’t decided to go in hot [due to the online outcry], they wouldn’t have arrested them so soon,” she said. ‘Powerless in the face of absolute violence’ Another woman who gave the nickname Shirley said telling women to be more careful wasn’t the right response. “I don’t know why, but every time this kind of incident happens, somebody comes out and says that women should take steps to protect themselves,” she said. “I used to agree with that, but after watching this incident, I wonder if women can actually protect themselves,” she said. “Even if I stop wearing [certain clothes] or going to out-of-the-way places … I’m still powerless in the face of absolute violence,” Shirley said. The Tangshan beating was just the latest case of violence against women to rock China in recent months, In February, harrowing video footage of a woman identified as Xiaohuamei chained by the neck in an outbuilding went viral on the Chinese internet, prompting widespread public anger over the rampant trafficking of women and girls, aided and abetted by local ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. An investigation by Jiangsu provincial authorities said Yang was a missing woman known by the nickname Xiaohuamei who was trafficked out of the southwestern province of Yunnan in 1997 and sold twice by human traffickers in Feng county. Nine people have been arrested for crimes linked to her trafficking, including her “husband,” who was identified by his surname, Dong. However, doubts remain about Yang’s actual identity. “Both the Tangshan incident and the case of the chained woman a few months ago, taken together, have contributed to a general concern among Chinese women that there are no guarantees for their personal safety,” Human Rights Watch senior researcher Maya Wang told RFA. According to the government-backed news website The Paper, found a number of court cases in which men stood trial for…

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Taiwan says China’s sovereignty claims over Taiwan Strait reveal military ambitions

Editor07 mins

Taiwan on Tuesday rejected China’s claim that the Taiwan Strait, the body of water between the democratic island and China, were its own territorial waters. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou said the Taiwan Strait is defined in international law as international waters. “Our government has always respected any activities conducted by foreign vessels in the Taiwan Strait that are allowed by international law,” Ou told reporters in Taipei. “We understand and support the freedom of navigation operations conducted by the U.S. as these operations promote peace and stability in the region,” she said. She said recent comments by Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin laying claim to the Taiwan Strait were “a distortion of international law.” She said Wang’s comments “revealed [China’s] ambition to annex Taiwan.” While Taiwan has never been governed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) nor formed part of the People’s Republic of China, and its 23 million people have no wish to give up their sovereignty or democratic way of life, Beijing insists the island is part of its territory. “Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory,” Wang told a news conference on June 13. “Taiwan has sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the Taiwan Strait.” “It is a false claim when certain countries call the Taiwan Strait ‘international waters’ in order to find a pretext for manipulating issues related to Taiwan and threatening China’s sovereignty and security,” he said. China vs rule-based international order In Taipei, Ou said Taiwan will continue to work with like-minded countries to jointly uphold the rule-based international order and promote peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), countries can claim an area 12 nautical miles (22 kilometers) from the coast as their territorial seas, where they have full sovereignty. They can also claim exclusive economic rights over waters up to 200 nautical miles from their coast, but other countries still have the right to sail through or fly over the waters. Most of the Taiwan Strait is less than 200 nautical miles wide, meaning that Chinese and Taiwanese economic claims mostly overlap. Huang Chieh-chung, associate professor of international affairs and strategy at Taiwan’s Tamkang University, said the timing of Wang’s claim was interesting. “Is it appropriate to come out and say something like this now? The intentions behind [Wang’s comments] may need further analysis,” he said. He said it was unclear whether the international community would support China’s claim. “The Taiwan Strait is an important international waterway, so how can China claim it all as its own?” Huang said. “Whether or not China can win international support for this view is up to them.” “But we in Taiwan won’t accept it.” Legitimacy rejected Ye Yaoyuan, director of the Department of International Studies and Contemporary Linguistics at the University of St. Thomas in the United States, said Beijing’s intention could be linked to legal moves aimed at paving the way for a military invasion of Taiwan. “One thing China has been doing is showing [its actions regarding Taiwan] from a legal point of view,” Ye told RFA. “If there is war in the Taiwan Strait, can they prevent other countries from intervening in such a war using international law, or intimidate them?” “China has been making comments, particularly using the perspective of international law, to strengthen its legal case for forcing ‘unification’ on Taiwan,” Ye said. “But the legitimacy [of such arguments] isn’t accepted by most countries.” Chinese leader Xi Jinping has signed a directive allowing ‘non-war’ uses of the military, prompting concerns that Beijing may be gearing up to invade the democratic island of Taiwan under the guise of a “special operation” not classified as war. The U.S. State Department hadn’t responded to requests for its comment on Wang Wenbin’s comments by the time of writing. U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan held “candid” talks with Chinese defense minister Yang Jiechi on Monday, with scant agreement reached on the matter of Taiwan. Sullivan reiterated the U.S. policy of recognizing Chinese sovereignty but expressed “concerns about Beijing’s coercive and aggressive actions across the Taiwan Strait,” a senior White House official told Agence France-Presse. Last month, U.S. President Joe Biden appeared to break with decades of Washington policy when he said the U.S. would defend Taiwan militarily if it was attacked by China. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

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Three die in raid on Sagaing region village

Editor05 mins

The bodies of a woman and two men have been found after junta troops set fire to Lat Pu Kan village in Myanmar’s Sagaing region on Monday. The three had been tied up and killed before troops torched the village in Pale township. The bodies of the woman, Daw Aye Man, and a man U Kyaung Maung, both in their 70s, were found along with U Paw, a man in his 80s, a local resident told RFA. “The victims were arrested and killed,” said the resident, who declined to be named for safety reasons. “Daw Aye Man, the woman, could not go anywhere as she was old and had no one who could carry her to help her flee. She was killed in her bed. U Paw, who was over 80, had poor vision. He was tied up and killed. The other man, U Kyaung Maung, was deaf. Their bodies were found after the military left the village.”  It was not clear why the three were killed when they were unable to take up arms to resist the junta forces. Calls to a military council spokesman by RFA on Tuesday morning went unanswered. In addition to the three murdered villagers, a 30-year-old local, Ko Naing, is missing according to local residents. A 53-year-old man, U Paw San, was shot and injured on Monday when troops fired heavy artillery and live rounds on nearby Kokko Gone village, locals told RFA. Three cattle were also killed. The military council has not issued a statement on either incident. The local People’s Defense Force (PDF) militia said that local PDFs have been able to defeat the junta’s troops because locals led them around landmines. It said that was why troops targeted the villages. Local militia member, Saya Poe Thar from the Kya Thit Nat group (Leopard Squad) said the troops who burned Lat Pu Kan and Kokko Gone villages on Monday also went to Pon Taung Nat Htake village in Pale Township on June 10, sending 107 military trucks, carrying around 170 soldiers. The troops included a landmine clearance team.  He said about 10 soldiers were killed on Sunday by landmines laid by the Kya Thit Nat militia group. Two local fighters also died. The military then set fire to nearby villages thought to support the PDFs, killing civilians and destroying their homes, Saya Poe Thar said. Sagaing has been the site of some of the fiercest fighting between military troops and opposition PDFs since the junta seized power in February last year. Data for Myanmar says 103 people were killed and 192 injured in the region between February 1, 2021 and April 28 this year. Fighting and arson attacks have forced an estimated 336,600 people to flee their homes in Sagaing since the coup, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. Independent think-tank Institute for Strategy and Policy Myanmar said this month that around 15,530 homes and other buildings had been burned or destroyed in the northwest region from the start of military rule until May 26 this year, representing nearly 70% of all the buildings damaged in Myanmar.

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Family of dead soldier questions military’s drowning claim

Editor07 mins

The family of a Vietnamese soldier has questioned claims by the military that he drowned while stationed at Ba Vi, on the outskirts of Hanoi. On June 11, the family wrote on social media that a soldier from Tuyen Quang city had died. Research by RFA  revealed the dead man was Ly Van Phuong, a 22-year-old ethnic Hmong, who had been serving in the Vietnamese military at Infantry Officer School No. 1 since February last year. Phuong’s family said his unit notified them that he was missing on the afternoon of June 9. The following morning, family members went to Ba Vi to look for him but returned home after failing to find him. On June 11, they received a phone call from his unit telling them that Phuong’s body had been found in a pond near the barracks. According to the soldier’s younger sister, Ly Thi Thu Hang, Phuong’s unit initially tried to persuade the family not to come to collect his body and instead to wait for the army to bring it to them. The family refused and insisted on going to the site of his death. “I went down but they still wouldn’t let me see the place where my brother died,” Thu Hang said. “Later my family argued with them and then they took us to the scene.” Thu Hang said there were many signs of a fight at the scene and they saw maggots on the ground even though her brother’s body was said to have been found in the pond. “I don’t know if it’s real, but it’s unacceptable,” she said. The family said they were asked by Phuong’s military unit to bring his body back home for burial as quickly as possible and were offered VND500 million (U.S.$22,400). “At first, they said that they would pay VND500 million to my family to bring my brother back and that’s it. They wouldn’t let my brother stay there anymore. My parents couldn’t accept that because they wanted to investigate further but they still wanted my parents to take my brother home.” RFA was unable to verify the family’s claims because it could not contact Infantry Officer School No. 1. Although initially intending to leave Phuong’s body at the barracks and request an investigation, the family decided on Sunday to bring it home for burial because it was severely decomposed. On the same day, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported on the incident, stating the view of the military unit. It said that Phuong was discovered missing at 5:30 a.m. on June 9. The unit later organized a search but could not find him. VNA said people discovered his body floating in a lake about 100 meters away from the unit on the evening of June 10. A representative of Infantry Officer School No. 1 said the military school was investigating the cause of death, VNA reported. When asked how she felt about her brother’s sudden death while performing military service, Ly Thi Thu Hang said: “On June 9, when they reported my brother was missing, I was already worried. Then they said that maybe he had gone out with some girls but I thought for sure that my brother hadn’t gone.” “Then my parents went down to look for him but couldn’t find him. On Saturday morning, when I heard that my brother had died, I was shocked feeling like it wasn’t true.” Thu Hang said she felt worried for her brother after hearing about the death of another soldier, Tran Duc Do, who died during military service in Bac Ninh. That incident took place in June, 2021 creating shock and anger across the country. Although the soldier’s family claimed that his son was beaten to death, the army ultimately concluded that Do hanged himself. In December 2021, a similar incident occurred in Gia Lai province, when another soldier, Nguyen Van Thien, died at his unit. Senior officers initially claimed Thien died in a fall at his barracks. A subsequent investigation showed he was beaten to death by his teammates, leading to the investigation and arrest of three servicemen believed to have been responsible. Based on those two cases, Ly Van Phuong’s family said that they did not believe he had drowned.

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Myanmar’s armed resistance rejects junta call for surrender

Editor014 mins

Myanmar’s armed resistance has dismissed an unprecedented call by the junta to surrender as a “sugar-coated offer” by a regime that must pay for its war crimes against civilians, as a new report found the military responsible for nearly 20,000 arson attacks since it’s 2021 coup. In a statement published in both Burmese and English by Myanmar’s state-run newspapers on Monday, the junta’s Information Team announced that all members of the armed resistance – including the pro-democracy People’s Defense Force (PDF) paramilitary group it has labeled a terrorist organization – will be allowed to return to civilian life if they willingly lay down their arms. The junta blamed “political adversaries and disagreements in ethnic affairs” for Myanmar’s internal armed conflicts, which it said had hampered development, and called for “unity” to heal the nation. “Those who were persuaded by terrorist groups … to commit acts of terrorism leading to the utter devastation of the country and launch armed resistance under various names of groups including PDF … affect the stability of the State and ensue delay in ways to democracy,” the statement said. “Therefore, it is here announced that the organizations, including PDF, are welcomed if they enter the legal fold [to return to] their normal civilian lives by surrendering their weapons, [and] following rules and regulations to participate in future work plans of the country.” Various armed resistance groups that have sworn loyalty to Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government (NUG) told RFA Burmese that surrender to the junta is “impossible,” citing the devastation it had wrought on the country since the Feb. 1, 2021 takeover. Others said the military cannot be trusted and suggested that its call for surrender is a sign of weakness. “If we had thought surrender was a possibility at the beginning, we would never have started the revolution,” said a spokesman for PDF in Kayah state’s Demawso township, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We will never surrender. We’ll never trust the military which has ruled us for over 70 years and wants to brainwash us, no matter what they say.” A spokesman for the Myingyu township PDF in Sagaing region, who also declined to be named, said his group will also continue its fight against the military. “As far as we know, they are weakening. I think they are making this offer because they have suffered heavy casualties during their offensive in our township,” he said. “We blew up their convoys with landmines whenever they passed through our territory, and they suffered a lot. We will never surrender to them but fight to the end.” A member of the Chinland Defense Force, which was fighting the junta in Chin state before the NUG was formed in April last year, said his group had barely acknowledged Monday’s offer. “We have determined to wipe out the military dictatorship. That is why we have taken up arms against them and reached this stage,” he said. “Frankly speaking, we don’t even need to comment on their offer.” Myanmar’s military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing (2nd from R) arrives for the fourth session of the 21st-Century Panglong Conference, Aug. 19, 2020.Credit: AFP Doubts over junta’s claims Naing Htoo Aung, shadow defense secretary, said the NUG will not consider the offer because the junta is “untrustworthy.” “It is unbelievable that these people, who are currently committing atrocities and killing innocent people and burning villages, have asked us to surrender our weapons and return to civilian life,” he said. “We all know that we cannot believe [this offer].” Naing Htoo Aung called Monday’s offer “sugar-coated,” and vowed to hold the junta responsible for the death and destruction it has sown over the past 16 months. The NUG claimed last month that it had already formed more than 250 battalions across the country and established links to more than 400 PDF units, suggesting it was more than capable of defeating the military regime. Sai Kyi Zin Soe, a Myanmar-based analyst, questioned why the junta would expect the PDF to disarm without removing the group from its list of terrorist organizations. “After all, it is difficult for people who have suffered because of the junta actions, to give up their weapons,” he said. “In this age, when news travels fast, the military cannot make up stories and fool people like the previous juntas.” Monday’s offer came days after U.S. State Department adviser Derek Chollet told reporters in Bangkok that the junta should return Myanmar to the path of democracy as it appears unable to crush the opposition. He also noted that the military has suffered heavy casualties in its fight with the resistance. Earlier this month, independent research group the Institute for Strategy and Policy (ISP Myanmar) said that it had documented more than 4,600 clashes between PDF units and the military as of May 15. More than half of them occurred in Kayin state, while the second most took place in Sagaing region. Junta chief Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing in April called on Myanmar’s ethnic armed groups to hold peace talks and end armed conflict with the military, but he refused to meet with the PDF. The smoldering remains of Kebar village in Sagaing region’s Ayeyarwaddy township, Dec. 13, 2021. Nearly 20,000 houses razed The junta’s invitation to surrender also came less than a week after local watchdog group Data for Myanmar issued a report which found that junta troops and military proxy groups had burned down 18,886 homes across the country between last year’s coup and the end of May 2022. According to the report, villages in Sagaing were the hardest hit by the junta, with 13,840 houses destroyed, while those in Magway region and Chin state came in second and third. It said that 7,146 homes were set on fire in May alone – the highest monthly figure since the coup. Legal experts and analysts told RFA on Monday that the widespread use of arson against civilians amounts to war crimes and said the junta must be held…

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Statesman or shark bait?

Editor01 mins

After blanket denials that China is building a naval facility for its use at Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base, Cambodia is now saying Chinese forces will not have exclusive use of the structure at the Gulf of Thailand base. While the U.S. and other regional powers worry about China gaining its first naval staging facility in mainland Southeast Asia near the South China Sea, there are also concerns that Prime Minister Hun Sen will cede too much Cambodian sovereignty to a far more powerful partner that won’t take “no” for an answer.

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China sets information blockade after 6.0 magnitude earthquake hits Tibetan county

Editor05 mins

The Chinese government is imposing an information lockdown after a series of earthquakes in a Tibetan county in Sichuan province displaced more than 25,000 residents, RFA has learned. The initial quake, measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale, hit Barkam (Maerkang in Chinese), a county-level city in the Ngawa (Aba) Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, at 1:28 a.m. June 10, Beijing time, the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) reported. According to a state-run media report, the quake injured at least one person and 1,314 rescuers were dispatched to the area. An estimated 25,790 residents of the area were transferred and resettled. “Most of the houses [in affected areas] are destroyed and many have sustained extensive damage,” a source told RFA’s Tibetan Service Friday on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “Many people have been left injured, but I haven’t heard any death reports so far.” File photo of earthquake damage in Barkam county, Ngawa, Tibet. Photo: Citizen Journalist Another source told RFA that many of the homes still standing are now without electricity. “The number of fatalities and injured are unknown at the moment. However, the government has strictly instructed us not to share any pictures, videos and other information of the calamity on social media,” the source said on condition of anonymity for security reasons.  “The earthquake stuck in the middle of the night while it was raining heavily. Though it was frightening, many were able to step out of their houses for safety. But another earthquake measuring 5.8 magnitude and few small ones stuck again in the early morning hours,” said the source. Chinese media reported that rescuers had been dispatched, but the source said that they had not yet arrived when he spoked to RFA.  “The schools in Barkam county, where the earthquake stuck, have seen no help from the government and the students are still lying around their school’s playground. They even have to take care of their own food,” the source said. Residents of Barkam have been barred from posting reports, pictures and any other information about the quake, which has devastated houses, stupas and monks’ residences, a third source who requested anonymity to speak freely told RFA. File photo of the aftermath of an earthquake in Barkam county, Ngawa, Tibet. Photo: Citizen Journalist Many displaced people have had to find temporary shelter in tents, which the monks and townspeople have set up together. Government rescuers did not reach Barkam until Monday, three days after the initial quake. India’s National Center for Seismology reported two more earthquakes in Tibet on Monday — a 4.2 magnitude quake at 4:01 a.m. IST and a 4.5 magnitude quake at 11:49 a.m. IST. Both occurred in Gerze (Gaize) county, Xizang province. Earthquakes are common on the Tibetan plateau and last year a 7.3-magnitude quake struck Matoe (Maduo) county, killing 20 people and injuring 300.  RFA reported at that time that authorities had similarly blocked social media reporting, telling citizens to report injuries and deaths only to the government rather than sharing the information online. Translated by Tenzin Dickyi. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

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Two Vietnam villagers complete jail terms for deadly 2020 raid in land dispute

Editor05 mins

Two villagers who were jailed for “resisting officials on duty” during a deadly January 2020 police raid over a tense land dispute in northern Vietnam completed their nearly 30-month sentences and were released on June 9, one of the freed men said Monday. Bui Van Tuan and Trinh Van Hai were part of an initial group of eight residents of Hoanh hamlet in Dong Tam commune, about 25 miles south of Vietnam’s capital Hanoi who were arrested following a deadly clash between residents and police on Jan. 9, 2020 that left three officers and the village elder dead. On that day, about 3,000 officers intervened in a long-running dispute between villagers and developers over construction of a nearby military airport on nearly 150 acres of agricultural land they used. Police raided the homes of the residents, including that of village elder Le Dinh Kinh, shooting dead the octogenarian in his bedroom during the early morning attack. Kinh’s sons, Le Dinh Chuc and Le Dinh Cong, were sentenced to death on Sept. 14, 2020, in connection with the deaths of three police officers who were killed in the clash. After his release, Tuan told RFA on Monday that his health was fine and he had not been treated badly in prison. Tuan also said that after his unsuccessful appeal trial, authorities sent him to Thanh Phong Detention Center in Thanh Hoa province, where he performed forced labor. Hai, who was held at Detention Center No. 6 in Thanh Chuong district, Nghe An province, was released on the same day, but RFA could not reach his relatives for comment. Four other villagers are serving jail terms of 12 years to life on murder charges, while eight others are serving prison terms of 30 months to five years for “resisting officers on official duty.” Another 15 people were also charged with resisting officers, but received probation. Following the deadly clash, the My Duc district government built a fence around the disputed 59 hectares (146 acres) of land in Dong Senh, and the military built a high wall separating its land from the disputed land, a villager said at that time. International organizations have called on the Vietnamese government to conduct an independent and transparent investigation of the Dong Tam incident. In an earlier flare-up of the Dong Tam dispute, farmers detained 38 police officers and local officials during a weeklong standoff in April 2017. Three months later, the Hanoi Inspectorate rejected the farmer’s claims that 47 hectares (116 acres) of their farmland was seized for the military-run Viettel Group — Vietnam’s largest mobile phone operator — without adequate compensation. Though all land in Vietnam is owned by the state, land confiscations have become a flashpoint with residents, who have accused the government of pushing small landholders aside in favor of lucrative real estate developments and of paying insufficient compensation for their losses. Translated by Anna Vu for RFA Vietnamese. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

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Investigative Journalism Reportika © March 2022 by Ij-Reportika is licensed under CC BY 4.0